My OH has been told May 5th is the earliest flight home. He was due home from the US on Friday. Airline is paying all accomodation and giving him £30 per day.

Looks like KLM and Lufthansa have had planes in the air to test what if any problems they have with airframe and engines and upto now the reports are very positive.Come on BA do the same see what the skies aroud the UK are showing come in on the approach paths and test and hopefully they will have good results.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100417/ts_nm/us_europe_air_tests

we are here in malaysia,just hoping our flight,will be ok,on wed.
we are due to fly at 8a.m u.k time.
i feel truly sorry,for those,who have had their well deserved holidays delayed or cancelled!
recieved an e mail,from the airline,advising us,to check before flying to KL,but not sure,whether to stay in penang or to fly to KL,then at least we are by the airport,ready to fly back.
but hopefully come wed,we will be ok.
tracy

The restrictions across UK airspace have been extended further until at least 1900 today Sunday 18 April.

There may be hope this was taken from the KLM web page

KLM test flight passes off without problem

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines carried out a test flight this evening between about 19.45 and 21:00 hours CEST in Netherlands airspace using a Boeing 737-800. The flight was carried out to establish whether air quality in the atmosphere meets the requirements for safe flight. No problems were encountered during the flight.

The aircraft was transferred to a hangar on landing where it underwent a thorough inspection. The results have been reported to the Transport and Water Management Inspectorate. The Inspectorate will take the decision on whether flight operations are possible.

KLM President & CEO, Peter Hartman, said: "At first glance there is no reason to suspect that anything is amiss. We observed no irregularities either during the flight or during the initial inspection on the ground. If the results of the technical inspection confirm this impression, we are ready to start by returning seven of our aircraft to Amsterdam from Düsseldorf. We hope to receive permission as soon as possible after that to start up our operation and to transport our passengers to their destinations." KLM Executive Vice-President Operations, Ype de Haan, was also on board the flight with Peter Hartman as an observer.

The aircraft flew to 41,000 feet (altitude of approximately 13 kilometres), which is the maximum altitude for this type of aircraft. KLM expects to receive the final results of the technical inspection tomorrow morning.

we are supposed to fly tues to egypt and looking unlikely, but i have booked thomson flights and my hotel through thomas cook, does anyone know if were likely to get our hotel money back from thomas cook as its not a package?

I need advice please. We were due to fly to Charleston this afternoon via Atlanta. Our Delta flight to Atlanta shows on the website as cancelled today and tomorrow, but the flight from Atlanta to Charleston is showing as on time as US air space isn't affected by the volcanic ash. Do we need to try to cancel the second leg of the flight or will us not showing up for the LHT to AtTL part automatically cancel the second flight?

maureen,

Given you won't be checking-in for your initial flight, the next flights will (should) automatically be cancelled as they are on the same itinerary. You need to speak to your airline though.

Darren

The current information from NATS: UK airspace is to remain closed until at least 1900 Sunday evening.

Darren

Silly question but on what information are NATS basing the no fly???? If KLM and Lufthansa report no problems why dont NATS do the same or does the UK have a different kind of ash???????

Whilst I am not an aircraft technician, it will surely takes days for that KLM plane to be inspected? I guess the whole engine and other parts that are or may be exposed to volcanic ash will need to be stripped down and inspected. No point doing a quick visual checks when there could be stuff that can't be seen doing that visual check?

Mark

Heated towel rail with notice "may be hot"

Shower tray "slippery when wet"

Packet of nuts labelled "may contain nuts"

Dust cloud .....................

Sound familiar

Ed

The impacts of flying in to Volcanic ash are well known. I'm quite surprised a flight was permitted, and KLM risked taking a very expensive aircraft in to such conditions. I suspect they have lower concentrations of ash and that's why it was permitted with the aim of trying to get a limited number of flights out using lower initial altitute. Some low level ferry flights have been permited in parts of europe, but have ceased again in the UK. The main issue is the risk of damage to aircraft engines resulting in failure. However there are other issues as you're effectly flying in to an abrasive environment that can damage leading edges of surfaces and cause reduced visibily through flight deck windows as the millions of ash particles scratch the outer pain of the windows and creates a misting effect. Although the Dutch information will be useful, ash concentrations vary and it would be a very brave man / woman who makes a decision to say it's 'safe' to fly in those conditions when there are numerous historical cases where volcanic ash has caused major problems for aircraft inflight. If a decision is made to suggest aircraft can fly through the ash and something happens, there would be majot recoputions. Aircraft and passenger safety is always No1 priority in the aviation industry, hence the current disruptions.

The information I'm getting regarding the KLM flight is it departed AMS and ascended various flight levels (FL) up the maximum certified for that aircraft type, 41,000ft (FL410). The aircraft landed safely after finding no evidence of volcanic ash in that particular area and hence no damage was seen to the aircraft. The problem is, flight deck crews cannot detect where the ash is and it's not uniformly distributed over europe. They could unknowingly fly in to it causing damage to the aircraft, when it's too late. Would you want to take the risk?

Darren

Thanks Dazbo for your quick response. Hubby trying to phone Delta as I write. Travel agent nearly gave me a heart attack yesterday when I phoned. He said we have separate flight and cruise booking and to contact insurance company. As luci had already posted that Direct Travel are not paying out, I was a little upst I asked him to double check and he confirned that it was a Celebrity package so I am more hopeful of a refund. Question is how long will it take and can we book something else, i could go back to work next week and take my holiday later, along with all the others who've been cancelled, or I could stay home and do some Spring cleaning

What gets me is no one has been in touch with any advice. All the info has come from TV news or sites like this one, and peoples contributions are greatly appreciated. At least we are safe at home. Hope everyone stranded can treat it as an extended holiday and not have to sleep at the airport.

Big problems if this carries on as they are saying this volcano can spew out ash for 18months looks like in that case we are back to Ferries and Liners,not only will Airlines be going to the wall but the whole package tour industry will be shutting shop the impact of that on the UK economy will be catastrophic.
I have always fancied travelling home from here by ship??

It has been reported on both BBC & ITV that if you have booked flights and hotels separately, you r more than likely to lose out, more than you would with a package holiday.

The current information from NATS: UK airspace is to remain closed until at least 0100 Monday morning.

Darren

This ones going to run and run isn't it? If the volcano is still actively errupting, it is all down to wind direction, and that can change at any time. Who would want to make the decision under pressure to give the ok, only for a disaster to happen mid-air? Those who flew that test flight were very brave, but no-one wants any dead hero's.

maureen

The Direct Travel statement initially says this:-

The source of the travel disruption is an ash cloud caused by a volcanic eruption in Iceland covering vast areas of Northern Europe. This has resulted in many flights within the UK and Europe being cancelled.

Please note that Direct Travel Insurance policies do not offer cover for this situation.

However it then goes on to say this:-

We will, on an ex-gratia basis, cover claims for any additional accommodation and travel expenses incurred that are not refundable from any other source, in most cases the airline. Please ensure that you follow the normal claims procedure and provide all relevant supporting documentation, for more information see our faq

It seems like a small concession on the face of it, but these costs are the responsibility of the airline if flying on an EU operator or from the EU on a non-EU operator.

As far as I understand it, you might be able to claim from Direct Travel for accommodation and travel expenses if you are trying to return to the UK on a non-EU operator such as an American or Far East airline.

luci